US President Biden announces US-Africa summit for mid-December 2022
President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that the United States will bring together leaders from across the African continent for a major summit in December in Washington to discuss pressing challenges from food security to climate change.
"The summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities," Biden said in a statement.
The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, scheduled for Dec. 13-15, was announced simultaneously in virtual remarks by Vice President Kamala Harris to the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Marrakech hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa and the kingdom of Morocco and attended by a U.S. delegation.
A senior administration official, discussing the U.S.-Africa summit plans on condition of anonymity, said about 50 African leaders are expected to join Biden for the Dec. 13-15 series of meetings.
It will come at the end of a year when Biden has engaged other regions of the world with trips to visit U.S. allies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Biden has yet to visit Africa since becoming president, and the summit will be his most comprehensive look at the complexities of the continent.
A backbeat of Biden's diplomatic efforts thus far has been to promote Western democracies as a counterweight to China, but the official said the U.S.-Africa summit was not all about Beijing.
"We are not asking our African partners to choose," the official told Reuters. "We believe the United States offers a better model, but we are not asking our African partners to choose."
The U.S. Agency for International Development announced on Monday that it is providing nearly $1.3 billion in aid to the Horn of Africa nations of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia to help stave off mass starvation and deaths in the drought-stricken region.
Biden said the summit will work toward new economic engagement, promote democracy and human rights, advance peace and security, and address challenges such as food security and climate change as well as the pandemic.
The president believes that U.S. collaboration with leaders from African governments, civil society, the private sector and the African diaspora will help tackle some of the challenges, the official said.
21 July Press Release:
Vice President Kamala Harris Announces December United States – Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC
Prosper Africa Press Release
On July 20, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she and President Joe Biden are looking forward to welcoming African leaders to Washington, DC from December 13-15, 2022 for the United States-Africa Leaders Summit. She made this announcement on behalf of the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-Africa Business Summit, co-hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa and the Kingdom of Morocco.
“Our Administration’s goal,” she shared, “is to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development across the continent, to expand capital flows, and to promote the vibrant spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that is so prevalent across Africa.” Full remarks in the attached document.
Hon. Dana Banks, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for the U.S-Africa Leaders Summit, highlighted the importance of engaging a wide range of African and U.S. stakeholders. The President’s upcoming Summit reflects the breadth and depth of American partnerships with African governments, institutions, and citizens—partnerships based on dialogue that harness the ingenuity and creativity of our peoples.
The Vice President’s remarks marked four days of engagements by a U.S. delegation, organized by Prosper Africa, that included senior leadership from ten U.S. Government agencies and a group of U.S investors who manage over a trillion dollars in assets.
Hon. Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), led the delegation where she reinforced the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government commitment to increasing two-way trade and mobilizing investment in Africa’s fast-growing markets. She showcased MCC’s newest $460 million Morocco Employability and Land Compact, which is part of the agency’s commitment of $1.1 billion in Morocco.
Hon. Enoh T. Ebong, Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), announced new commitments that will support the development of resilient healthcare systems and increase access to quality healthcare in Nigeria and across the continent, expand internet access in support of bridging the digital divide across Southern Africa, and support South Africa’s decarbonization efforts through the Just Energy Transition Partnership. Director Ebong announced USTDA funding for a feasibility study to develop Morocco’s first smart grid, which will transform the power distribution infrastructure in Marrakech. Director Ebong also co-hosted a roundtable along with the Africa Investment Forum to spotlight women-led businesses and projects that are facilitating the deployment of U.S. solutions to Africa’s infrastructure in support of Prosper Africa.
Travis Adkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), highlighted the central role of African small and medium-sized enterprises in fueling the continent’s economic growth and recovery. He reinforced USADF’s core commitments to providing direct investments and technical assistance to African-owned and African-led enterprises and social entrepreneurs. He also engaged with African government officials to discuss the potential for partnerships, with a focus on USADF’s priority programming areas of food security, youth employment, women’s economic empowerment, and renewable energy.
Throughout the event, a powerful group of U.S. investors forged new connections with African public and private sector leaders and participated in a series of pitch sessions focused on investment opportunities in resilient infrastructure. Joseph Boateng, Chief Investment Officer of Casey Family Programs, shared that “Prosper Africa is working with institutional investors to help them overcome their misperceptions of the risks of investing in Africa by introducing investment opportunities and the tools available to mitigate their real risks… These delegations highlight that capital can have transformative effects when put to work under the right conditions and aligned interests. Teaming up with our counterparts in Africa can be powerful in getting capital to where it’s needed while also generating strong returns.”
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